July 1 through the 20th
Palm View First Baptist Church hosts a drive-thru food bank every Friday afternoon from 4 to 6 p.m. On Friday, 7/1, I took Emma with me to work there. She enjoyed it and was a big help taking bread and cereal to the cars while other volunteers took boxes of dry food and bags of cold food. Dad, Emma and I attended Sunday school and church on Sunday, 7/3. Many thanks go out to Kathi Jo Cole Kinsey for making the balloon arch for pictures.
Monday, was the 4th of July. Emma and I watched the neighborhood golf cart parade which went right in front of her house.
I fixed hot dogs, baked beans and coleslaw for my supper which was finished off with lemon meringue pie. Dad ate a piece of the pie.
Emma and I left just after 6:30 a.m. on Thursday, 7/7, heading to Weeki Wachee Springs State Park. After parking, for free, we waited with others until the park opened at 9:00 and got through the gate at 9:15. We went straight to the Jungle Cruise, but the 9:30 boat was full, so we went on the 10:00 cruise where we learned a lot of history of the area and the wildlife. We were cruising on the Weeki Wachee River which starts at the springs and flows out to the Gulf of Mexico. It has a mix of both fresh and salt water fish and in the winter time, it is home to a number of manatees.
The Springs were owned at one time by the American Broadcasting Company and several films were made on the property, including one Tarzan movie. You can also rent kayaks and go down the river on your own.
Next, we got in line for the mermaid show an hour before the 11:00 show started. The theater is opened a half-hour before the show and we were the last two to get in. This year’s show is based on the story of the Little Mermaid, a fairy tale written by Hans Christian Andersen. The story follows the journey of a young mermaid who is willing to give up her life in the sea as a mermaid to gain a human soul and some legs!
It begins with the mermaid sisters frolicking in the water and celebrating the little mermaid’s birthday.
The little mermaid meets a prince who has fallen overboard, and they fall in love. She goes to a sea witch to find out how she can get legs and live on land. The witch tells her that she must find the potion at the bottom of the ocean. She is successful and there is a surprise during the show when the couple actually come into the theater and dance.
Before the show ends, the couple returns to the sea to get her sisters out of some trouble with the witch. They celebrate by dancing together underwater.
After the show, Emma was able to get her picture made with one of the mermaids. (I don’t put pictures of Emma or Vanessa on the web.) After eating lunch, we headed to Buccaneer Bay which is a part of the springs that is available for swimming. While walking over to that part of the park, we saw two peacocks – one blue and one white.
The water temperature in all the springs in Florida is 72 degrees year-round which most people consider a little cool for swimming. Unfortunately, clouds had moved in and Emma only got ankle deep before the lifeguards closed the swimming due to inclement weather.
As we walked toward the exit in the increasing rain, we noticed one last shop and they had a swim outfit which included a mermaid tail. We had hoped to be able to buy one for Emma when we talked about coming here, so we were very happy to get that for her just before leaving around 1:30 in the afternoon. We drove about two hours to get to the park from Manatee County but only paid an entry fee of $19 for both of us. This park is not for everyone, but we really enjoyed our day.
Emma’s Sunday school class opened the church service on 7/10, singing a song based on the Bible verse Josuah 1:9: “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
On Tuesday, 7/12 my brother, Rick’s two daughters, Melissa and Mary celebrated their birthdays. They were born on the same date – two years apart. After my volunteer work, I met Jackie Sosville for lunch at what used to be the Riverside Café – now called Mila’s on the Manatee. In a joint project with the Sunrise Kiwanis, North Manatee Kiwanis Club and the Palm View First Baptist church Food Pantry mission on Saturday, 7/16, we packed an estimated 5000 meals to be distributed in our community.
Dad did not feel like going to church on Sunday, 7/17. Yesterday, while some of us were filling bags of food for food banks, a number of others were busy decorating meeting rooms and the sanctuary in preparation for our Vacation Bible School/Camp which begins tomorrow. It has an Australian theme and is called Zoomerang.
The bible verse for the week is Psalm 139:14. “I praise God for I am fearfully and wonderfully made”. A number of animals which live in Australia brought different messages, like Bill, the Platypus.
You can click on the picture to see an enlargement and
hopefully be able to read Bill’s message.
On Monday, 7/18, Emma started attending this week’s Vacation Bible School/Camp and I worked as a volunteer in the kitchen for the first couple of hours every day. On Wednesday, 7/20, Emma’s friend from the neighborhood, Brooke, joined us for the rest of the week.
July 21 through 31
After much trepidation, Emma chose to go on a family outing on Sunday, 7/24, rather than go to church to sing during the church service with about 25 other Bible school attendees. On the afternoon of Monday, 7/25, I took Dad back to his dentist for new impressions to be made for his permanent dentures. I volunteered at the North River Care Pregnancy Center and in the Palm View First Baptist Church office on Tuesday, 7/26. On Wednesday, 7/27, JP had an appointment to get is hair cut so I took Emma and Vanessa to lunch.
Thursday, July 28th was the 5th anniversary of my husband Rick’s death and the first year that I have not returned to Compass Cay to celebrate his life with the family. Unfortunately, it was also the date for Kellie’s sister, Teri’s, memorial service in Ocala. She and JP took her parents to Ocala for the day; Emma went to spend the day with friends; and Vanessa and I visited Rick’s stone with a new flower arrangement after lunch.
Emma and I volunteered at the church’s food bank on Friday, 7/29 and I took it easy on Saturday. Dad, Emma and I finished the month attending Sunday school and church.
Our journey has been inspired by Joy and Steve Fredrick. You can see more of their story at